Athlone Town are searching for a new manager just one match into the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division season after John Sullivan stepped down on Thursday.
Sullivan's abrupt departure comes less than a week after the reigning double winners opened their league title defence with a 1-1 draw at Sligo Rovers.
Six days earlier they had picked up their first available silverware of the season after beating Shelbourne 1-0 in the Women's President's Cup at Athlone Town Stadium.
The Midlanders announced Sullivan's resignation in a statement.
"Athlone Town AFC can confirm that John Sullivan has tendered his resignation as our Women's First Team Manager. We would like to thank John for his efforts with the club, both with our Men’s and Women’s teams," the club said.
"Our focus remains solely on preparing the team for their upcoming League fixture against DLR Waves this coming Saturday. The club will be making no further comment at this time."
Sullivan had been in charge of Athlone's first team since last September.
He had initially stepped up from the position of assistant to become on an interim basis after the sudden resignation of his predecessor Colin Fortune.
The 35-year-old former League of Ireland player went on to oversee the final weeks of their 2025 campaign as they successfully retained their league title and won the Women's FAI Cup.
In October, prior to the cup final triumph in Tallaght, he signed a two-year deal to remain as manager.
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